The present invention is directed to an improved device for the automatic loading, during operation, of a machine for the treatment, notably for the thermal treatment, of objects of elongated and cylindrical shape, notably of glass objects such as glass pipes. The device according to the invention is to be used more particularly for the feeding of glass pipes to a machine operable to form from said pipes ampullae for pharmaceutical products.
Such a machine has the configuration of a carrousel revolving at an angular speed which is often very high and which comprises a number of "stations" which have to be supplied with at least one glass pipe to be treated. The loading of such a machine during operation thereof causes problems, and this all the more since the objects which have to be loaded are of a fragile nature.
The known solutions of this problem use devices such as chain, belt or equivalent conveyors, which are outside the machine and forward the glass pipes tangentially to the machine.
Such known device do not give full satisfaction due to the speed, very high, at which the transfer of the glass pipes has to be made from the loading device to the machine to be loaded.